Featherstone coach set to make changes

Featherstone Rovers boss John Duffy has promised his players some hard work in training this week after being disappointed with their display in the Challenge Cup tie at Doncaster.

Duffy is also ready to make changes to his side as they get back to the Betfred Championship with a home game against Batley Bulldogs this Sunday.

He said: “We spoke about our attitude and not letting standards drop – but the messages clearly didn’t go in.

“Unfortunately some of us didn’t turn up and that’s for me to look at. I felt sorry for our forwards, who had to go through a lot of work on the back of a lot of errors from our outside backs.

“I will be making several changes and we will be having a tough week in training.

“We can’t keep telling them things and then they are not carrying them out in games. Some of them are, but quite a few not so we’ve got to look at that and make sure we do the right thing.”

The cup tie saw a return to action after injury for forward Scott Wheeldon and full-back Anthony Thackeray following their lengthy spells on the sidelines. Duffy was pleased to see both back in Rovers shirts and was impressed by Wheeldon.

He added: “Scott’s performance and him coming through without any issues was pretty much the only thing I can take from the game.

“He looked very good and has been itching to get back out on the field. I am glad he got some vital minutes under his belt.”

Brad Knowles and Tom Holmes both came off with injuries at Doncaster, but are expected to be fit to be in contention for this weekend.

Duffy will be hoping his dual registration and loan players will be available again for the Batley game after Harry Newman, Mitch Clark and Jansin Turgut returned to parent clubs last week to avoid being cup tied.